Waku Waku 7

What a strange little game this is. I am had no clue what to expect from Waku Waku 7, and I still don't think I fully comprehend what the game is. To the naked eye Waku Waku (or WW7 as we have started calling it around the office) is a simple fighter, but I truly believe there is something deeper and more sinister at play here.

Story? Well, something about getting everybody together for a tournament or something or other. What is just peculiar, though, is that I think just about every type of Anime is covered in this game. There is the simple, cute Pokemon-esque Maura, a very dark figure with a long deadly sword, the cute End of Summer Japaniporn girl, in the way of Arina. Not to mention a large robot, a quirky speed demon, and a brother sister team that remind me of many a supporting cast member. And after all of that, we have something truly special. It's such a diverse sect of cast members that you can literally be into this no matter what kind of anime you're into.

And that's not it. It has bonus stages ... something that has been gone from fighting games for years. And it's unique, too. It's use against a giant moving, fighting punching bag. Creepy.

Something that is not unique, though, is the control. Using your basic Street Fighter moves to do just about every single move in WW7, any player of your old (and new) Capcom fighters will feel right at home here. This is both good and bad. I'm pleased that I didn't have to learn too many new techniques, however, it would have have been nice for some innovation in the theme. Nonetheless, the control is fluid, and works extremely well with the game.

The best feature, hands down, is the graphc detail in the game. Not only does it look remarkable, but the backgrounds are extremely detailed, even changing every round. The characters are drawn like their respective genre of Anime would be, some of the characters look better than others, but all look fantastic, and animate even better. It's easy to fall in love with the graphics in the game. The graphics even hold up well by 2001 standards.

As much praise as there is to be had, I must deduct points due to the extreme lack of playable characters. Sure the game is called Waku Waku 7, but having only seven playable characters is a major drag.

Regardless, the game is fantastic and worth hunting down. This is one game I wish SunSoft would have brought out for other systems!